Conventionally, a print preview function is known. With this function, an image to be printed is displayed on a screen as a layout and is presented to the user before data is actually printed on a paper sheet upon printing data such as a document or image edited by a document or image edit application program.
The user can confirm the layout and layout information of pages (logical pages) sent from an application by checking an image to be printed using this print preview function.
In a booklet printing process that prints data to lay out pages in an original order by binding printed sheets (folding them into two), if a preview process is made in consideration of the page order that the user wants, a layout to be rendered on physical pages to be actually output cannot be accurately expressed. Conversely, when a preview process is made in consideration of the output appearance of physical pages, since logical pages are displayed not in the order that the user intended, it becomes difficult for him or her to imagine based on the previewed layout if pages are to be printed correctly.
However, there is no mechanism that allows the user to switch the aforementioned preview methods, and a preview function as the booklet printing preview method is insufficient.
Furthermore, in a print control apparatus having a function of laying out logical pages corresponding to a front cover page, inside front cover page, inside back cover page, and back cover page on a paper sheet which is set on the outermost side of a booklet, and executing a normal booklet printing process on paper sheets for a body text part, which are set at the inner side, both a preview that handles cover pages as part of booklet pages, and a preview that independently handles cover pages and body text pages cannot be confirmed.
Therefore, such function is often inconvenient for the user.